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February 1, 2013

Hospital Robots: FDA Clears First Autonomous Telemedicine Robot

RP-VITA

RP-VITA™, by iRobot and InTouch Health,
enables doctors to provide patient care from anywhere in the world via a
telemedicine solution

All Medical Robots by iRobot

BEDFORD, Mass., January 24, 2013 –
iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT), a leader in delivering robotic solutions,
announced that the RP-VITA Remote Presence Robot has received 510(k)
clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in
hospitals. RP-VITA is the first autonomous navigation remote presence
robot to receive FDA clearance.

RP-VITA is a joint effort between two industry leaders, iRobot and
InTouch Health. The robot combines the latest in autonomous navigation
and mobility technologies developed by iRobot with state-of-the-art
telemedicine and electronic health record integration developed by
InTouch Health. RP-VITA allows remote doctor-to-patient consults,
ensuring that the physician is in the right place at the right time and
has access to the necessary clinical information to take immediate
action. The robot has unprecedented ease of use. It maps its own
environment and uses an array of sophisticated sensors to autonomously
move about a busy space without interfering with people or other
objects. Using an intuitive iPad® interface, a doctor can visit a
patient, and communicate with hospital staff and patients with a single
click, regardless of their location.

The FDA clearance specifies that RP-VITA can be used for active patient
monitoring in pre-operative, peri-operative and post-surgical settings,
including cardiovascular, neurological, prenatal, psychological and
critical care assessments and examinations.

RP-VITA is being sold into the healthcare market by InTouch Health as
its new flagship remote presence device. iRobot will continue to explore
adjacent market opportunities for robots like RP-VITA and the iRobot
Ava™ mobile robotics platform.

“FDA clearance of a robot that can move safely and independently through
a fast-paced, chaotic and demanding hospital environment is a
significant technological milestone for the robotics and healthcare
industries,” said Colin Angle, chairman and CEO of iRobot. “There are
very few environments as difficult to maneuver as that of a busy ICU or
emergency department. Having crossed this technology threshold, the
potential for self-navigating robots in other markets, and for new
applications, is virtually limitless.”

“Remote presence solutions have proven their worth in the medical arena
for quite some time,” said Yulun Wang, chairman and CEO of InTouch
Health. “RP-VITA has undergone stringent testing, and we are confident
that the robot’s ease of use and unique set of capabilities will enable
new clinical applications and uses.”

Now that hospital robots are currently being employed I can't wait until they have an R2D2 or C3PO version available.About iRobot Corp.

iRobot designs and builds robots that make a difference. The company’s
home robots help people find smarter ways to clean, and its defense
& security robots protect those in harm’s way. iRobot’s consumer and
military robots feature iRobot Aware® robot intelligence
systems, proprietary technology incorporating advanced concepts in
navigation, mobility, manipulation and artificial intelligence. For more
information about iRobot, please visit www.irobot.com.